Animal Crossing: Nintendo Has a Plan In Place to Combat Dwindling Sales of New Horizons

Animal Crossing New Horizon recently saw a significant decrease in sales as compared to when it was first released on March 20, 2020. Nintendo had announced during the release that the game would receive several updates following the release. These updates would include events corresponding to those occurring in actual life at that particular time.

The game saw its first update in April 2020, only a month after its release, which included an event called “Bunny Day”, loosely based on Easter. The last update, released in September, was Fall themed.

Strategy for Sales Revival

President Shuntaro Furukawa addressed the problem with sales in the recent conference call for the Six-Month Financial Results Briefing for fiscal year ending March 2021. On being asked how Nintendo planned to revive the sales for Animal Crossing New Horizon, he spoke about the new updates that they would introduce to the game.

Speaking about the decrease in sales, Furukawa says,

“The sales pace of Animal Crossing: New Horizons has eased compared to the period around its initial release, but among all our titles, this one continues to maintain high sales levels. As I mentioned in response to a previous question (Q7), this title is also driving Nintendo Switch hardware sales in Asian markets, which have relatively smaller sales numbers than the markets in Japan, the U.S. and Europe.

“Going forward, we will continue to implement in-game events and would like to create a situation where consumers will keep enjoying the game for a long time. This will be the first year-end sales season for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and we hope even more people will take that opportunity to purchase the game.”

Animal Crossing New Horizon Recent Updates

Animal Crossing New Horizon saw several updates since its release in March 2020. Real-life events and festivals have inspired most of them. There have been five major updates till now, two of which released at the beginning and end of April. The following two released at the beginning and end of July.

Nintendo released the last update in late September, themed on Fall. This update included details like pumpkins, costumes, candy, and even customizable eye colors. Additionally, it included exciting new things such as the ability to control in-game reactions.

According to plans, the next update should be available towards the end of November. If Nintendo follows the usual pattern, this update should include events based on Thanksgiving.

Animal Crossing New Horizons gained immense popularity during the global lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The game has sold over 26 million copies till date. Furthermore, it met its lifetime sales prediction as early as May 2020.

Read More: Demon’s Souls Tips For First Timers in Boletaria